Filip Helander spent four years at Rangers and struggled with multiple injuries during his time at Ibrox, which may be partly why he isn’t at Philippe Clement’s side right now.
The defender joined Rangers from Bologna in 2019 and was restricted to 60 appearances in four seasons at Ibrox, managing seven goals and an assist in the process. At the end of last season, Rangers allowed him to leave as a free agent.
Helander had to wait until last August to find a club when Danish side Odense Boldklub signed him and offered a one-year deal. He’s probably missing Rangers, if Tipsbladet‘s analysis of his latest situation at OB is to be considered.
The Sweden international has put injury woes behind him as he’s been a regular for OB this season, making 19 appearances so far. The former Ibrox man even captained his side in recent weeks, but there’s been a new development.
On Monday, OB director Björn Wesström considered demoting the ex-Rangers defender and appointing a new captain. Tipsbladet state the change has taken place and the captain’s armband is now handed to Bashkim Kadrii.
This hasn’t pleased former Danish footballer Peter Sørensen and he’a been critical of OB’s treatment towards Helander.
“I think they underestimate the drama this causes in the squad. You can see that the judgement in choosing a captain has been poor, to put it mildly, unfortunate,” he told Viaplay, relayed by Tipsbladet.
“And the latest decision is an unfortunate continuation of a long and continuous dethronement of the most deserving players. The players who should be supporters, who time and time again have experienced that they have been deprived of the status they have had.”
“This applies to Martin Hansen, who sits on the bench and has become a reserve goalkeeper. This applies to Bjørn Paulsen, who has been benched after being captain.
“Most recently, we have also seen a dethronement and, in fact, a public castration of Filip Helander after Björn Wesström said that he now needs to concentrate on himself and that he has plenty to do after playing a couple of bad games. It just means a lot.”
Taking the latest drama at OB into account, maybe Helander should have worked harder to convince Rangers to retain him this season.
